Springing forward

March is flying away already! Here’s what I’ve been up to since the start of this year.

New client: In February, I signed on as a copy editor with Pandamoon Publishing. I’m excited to work with an indie publisher with such a varied book list. It’s like when I was in college, taking literature classes and pinching myself that I got to read novels for homework and then talk about them for class. Now I get to read (and edit) novels for work. This is the best job, y’all.

Returning client: In March I came back to the Friday night/weekend editorial shift in the Entertainment section at SheKnows. Editing here is like speedwork in running — it’s so fast-paced and demanding in short bursts that I get faster and better in everything else I edit, too. It’s also the source of my continuing pop culture knowledge. For example, you nae nae, you don’t “do the nae nae,” and when you clap back (v.), that’s two words, but a clapback (n.) is one word. To name two things I had to look up this week. I missed this weirdness.

Fiction writers and editors: Last November, I told NaNoWriMo writers not to choose an editor right away and, instead, to revise the novel in January and February, then look for an editor. Then I got so busy myself that I didn’t advertise that $999 March NaNoWriMo special. It still stands, however! If you’re ready for editing (and willing to book in April or May), shoot me an email about it. If you’re wondering what to expect from the editing process or have questions for fiction editors, read through the posts from Tuesday’s #AskFictionEditors Q&A session on Facebook or read the Storify compiled by Louann Pope.

New tools and treats: This week I installed f.lux on my desktop. I’m a night owl, often working late at night (check the timestamp of this post), and f.lux tones down the monitor’s brightness after sunset to match indoor lighting. I used to get headaches when I’d finally turn the computer off for the night. I can’t yet say that f.lux fixes that, because I’ve been sick with a head cold this week, but I’m very optimistic about it. And I also sampled Murchie’s Editors’ Blend tea, blended for the 2011 Editors’ Association of Canada conference. It’s just right for the afternoon, when I don’t need a jolt of caffeine but do need something hot to sip while I’m reading page proofs or puzzling through a reference list. (Today was more of a Throat Coat tea day, though.)

The rest of my March is busy and April is filling up. I post a little more regularly on Facebook — especially if I’m procrastinating — and on Twitter. Join me there!

Rachel Lee Cherry

Need someone to read over your novel about a modern time traveler who falls in love with a sarcastic 13th-century alchemist or your book on techniques for reading the Akashic Records? I'm there with bells on.